Style Thief: James Bond In Skyfall

Every man should make an effort to develop his own style, he should seek inspiration from others and allow for seasonal changes in wardrobe, but at the core of his look there should be a sartorial theme which is entirely his own.

That being said, there are those days where you just can’t be arsed…

On these days, and on these days alone, it is acceptable to partake in some light thievery. When at your lowest ebb, it is fine to look to icons of men’s style and to hijack a few key items to give your look a bit of a boost. To find garments which not only add to your own personal style, but are the tried and tested staples of menswear and can make any man look and feel cool.

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For this particular experiment to work you’ll need an almost flawless icon, enter James Bond, and more specifically Daniel Craig’s Bond in Skyfall.

Tom Ford Suit:

Skyfall’s costume designer Jany Temime described her task on the film as ‘giving a new look, to a very successful image’. In order to match up to the sartorial excellence of previous Bonds, she called on American designer Tom Ford to provide the suits. Ford, despite being a successful film director in his own right and working on some of the designs for 2008’s Quantum Of Solace, told Vogue that he was “very excited” when approached, and explained that the process came quite naturally to him, as he’d been providing garments for Daniel Craig for some years and “knew that he looks best when simply dressed.”

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Temime explained to Complex.com; “I wanted Bond to look perfect all the time, so I chose Tom Ford shirts that had a tab under the collar—great for the action scenes—and light blue and sky blue colours, because they go wonderfully with Daniel's eyes.” Whilst this is admirable, and a testament to her craft, if you’re picking your suits on the merit that they’re going to match Daniel Craig’s eyes, you’re mental. Tom Ford does make a range of excellent suits though, and they’re available for your perusal at: www.TomFord.com

Billy Reid Peacoat:

During Skyfall Bond ends up in Shanghai, and being a British naval officer in Shanghai his choice of outerwear is obviously a Navy blue peacoat. Hardly pushing the boundaries, but stylish nevertheless. For Bond’s naval attire, Temine again chose an American in Billy Reid, a Louisiana-born designer who describes his garments as "low-fi Southern-bred luxury".

Reid’s peacoat is a luxury garment made out of 100% wool, with natural horn buttons, a single back vent and bound seams. If you’re getting antsy at the prospect of Bond wearing yet more American product, be safe in the knowledge that like Tom Ford’s fitting process, this jacket is created in Italy, and can be yours… if you’ve got a cool £440 knocking about from here.

Here’s a video of a particularly eager American man who, by the looks of it, really likes James Bond, visiting the Billy Reid store in New York:

Barbour To-Ki-To Sports Jacket:

J. Barbour and Sons have been around since 1894 and have been synonymous with British outdoor, protective clothing for almost all of that time. So, when Bond returns to his ancestral home in the wilds of Scotland, and begins to enquire about ‘the gun room’, there was little else he could wear really.

The sports jacket that Bond wears, part of a collaboration with Japanese designer Tokihito Yoshida, is made of sylkoil wax, and lined with Barbour’s trademark tartan. Sadly (or perhaps not) Bond has ensured that it’s sold out pretty much everywhere. Instead of waiting for a proposed January re-stock, you’d be better off browsing the rest of the Barbour To-Ki-To range for something that isn’t the jacket equivalent of a JAMES BOND FAN CLUB t-shirt.